March 24-27 Catholic Worker Faith & Resistance Gathering – No F-35s!
Monday, March 27 – Resistance actions to ground the F-35 fighter jet and abolish war
We need you and your friends and relations on Monday!
Several nonviolent resistance actions will happen Monday morning. If you can commit to nonviolence, please show up to any or all of these listed times and places, to support and witness.
5:00 am Gather at Truax – Wisconsin Air National Guard Base, 3200 Pierstorff St.
5:30 am Nonviolent resistance action begins. Sunrise is at 6:49 am.
8:45 am Gather at the East Entrance to the Capitol for a rally.
We will not be doing a War Abolition Walk this Monday morning. Please join us for the nonviolent actions!
Madison, Wisconsin is hosting the 20th Catholic Worker Midwest Faith and Resistance Gathering, March 24 – 27, 2023. It will be a weekend of relationship-building, reflection, music, art, meals and direct action opposing F-35 fighter jets, militarism and war.
All are welcome at the film on Friday evening, the public talks on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the services on Sunday morning, and at the direct actions and the war abolition walk on Monday morning. Details below.
Friday Night Film
Friday, March 24 at 7:00 pm – Madison Veterans for Peace present the new documentary Theaters of War: How the Pentagon and CIA took Hollywood (1 hr 28 min). Bradley Geyer of Madison Veterans for Peace, Chapter 25, will lead discussion at intermission and following the film. Location: Madison Christian Community, 7118 Old Sauk Road, Madison.
Saturday Afternoon Panel Discussion
March 25 – 1:30 – 3:00 pm Location: Madison Christian Community, 7118 Old Sauk Road, Madison
Moderator, Rebecca Kemble, Former Alder, Water Protector, Activist
- Kathy Kelly, Board President, World BEYOND War
- Vicki Berenson, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin
- Steven Klafka, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin
(Speakers’ bios are below.)
Sunday Morning Services
11:15 Wild Church, with Eric Anglada, St Isadore Catholic Worker Farm and Sister Maureen McDonnell, Sinsinawa Dominican. Location: Owen Conservation Park, 6021 Old Sauk Rd. We’ll have some chairs, bring one if you’d like.
Sunday Afternoon Panel Discussion
March 26 – 1:30 – 2:30 pm, Location: St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish, 602 Everglade Drive, Door #3, Madison
Moderator: Marsha Rummel, former alder 2007 – 2021; current alder candidate for District 6
- Danaka Katovich, National Co-Director, CODEPINK Women for Peace, and Facilitator, CODEPINK International Ground the F-35 coalition
- Brian Terrell, Strangers & Guests Catholic Worker & Nevada Desert Experience
Monday, March 27 – Resistance actions to ground the F-35 fighter jet and abolish war
We need you and your friends and relations on Monday!
Several nonviolent resistance actions will happen Monday morning. Affinity groups will prepare and plan the details during the weekend of March 24 – 26. If you can commit to nonviolence, please show up to any or all of these listed times and places, to support and witness.
5:00 am Gather at Truax – Wisconsin Air National Guard Base, 3200 Pierstorff St.
5:30 am Nonviolent resistance action begins. Sunrise is at 6:49 am.
10:30 am Gather at St John’s Lutheran Church, 322 E Washington Ave. Choose between several nonviolent resistance actions downtown likely to include vigils with music, visits to elected officials, and bannering.
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To be part of the whole weekend of events:
The focus of the weekend gathering is preparing for a resistance direct action that we will do on Monday, March 27. Want to be part of that? Please rsvp here and plan to be with us on Saturday and Sunday afternoon especially. During those times, we’ll listen to speakers, do nonviolence training, and form affinity groups to plan and act together. We hope that many Madison-area activists will participate. It will be a chance for us to support and learn from seasoned anti-militarism movement leaders who will be coming here from all over the US. We’ll send a detailed weekend schedule to people who rsvp.
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CODEPINK: Women for Peace will be with us and we’ll drop this banner together Monday …
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About the speakers:
Kathy Kelly is a peace activist, author, and board president of World BEYOND War. Kathy’s activism and writing are focused on Afghanistan, Yemen, Gaza, and domestic protests against US drone policy. In the past thirty-five years her activism has led to her arrests at home and abroad. She lived in war zones, notably remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US–Iraq wars.
Danaka Katovich is National Co-Director, CODEPINK Women for Peace, and Facilitator of CODEPINK International Ground the F-35 coalition. Since 2018 she has been working towards ending US participation in the war in Yemen. At CODEPINK she works on youth outreach as a facilitator of the Peace Collective, CODEPINK’s youth cohort that focuses on anti-imperialist education and divestment.
Brian Terrell, Strangers & Guests Catholic Worker, Nevada Desert Experience. With his resistance experience at the nuclear sharing bases in Europe, most of them set to receive F-35s soon, Brian speaks to the international efforts of Catholic Workers.
Vicki Berenson brings a lifelong dedication to anti-violence and social justice to her organizing work with Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, opposing the siting of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jets at Truax Field, Madison, WI. A Quaker, she is a board member of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, and Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
Steve Klafka, a professional environmental engineer in Madison, works to address local noise problems, including the county airport, lobbying for better protection for citizens. He joined Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin and informs residents and public representatives of anticipated impacts of basing F-35s at Truax Field. He currently assists with legal challenges filed by Safe Skies.
Marsha Rummel served as District 6 Alder on the Madison Common Council from 2007-2021. As Council President she initiated a process to collect public comments to submit to the Air National Guard Environmental Impact Statement preliminary review of siting F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field. She worked with east and north side Alders to pass a Council resolution opposed to F-35 fighter jets at Truax. She supports changing the mission of the WI 115th Fighter Wing to medical and climate emergency response, and is running again for Common Council this spring (www.marsha4d6.com)
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You already know this:
In 2020, the Air Force decided to base a fleet of F-35 warplanes in Madison. Hundreds of people in Madison got active to oppose the siting, see www.safeskiescleanwaterwi.org The decision to bring the planes is being challenged in Federal court now. The Air Force is planning to bring nuclear-capable F-35s to Madison this spring.
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Who is organizing this?
An assortment of people who have been active with Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin – and also connected to other organizations – are pulling together the details to host the gathering. The Catholic Worker folks will take the lead – they have held these gatherings for years and are experienced facilitators for making things happen. Learn more about the Catholic Worker Movement and their allies
We are inspired by the history of Plowshares activists’ work against militarism. And by Italian dock workers unions who in recent years are refusing to load weapons shipments for wars.
Since last April, in Madison we have held 24 war abolition walks to call for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and all wars. We have started a new Madison chapter of the international anti-war group World BEYOND War.
We hope you can join us.
Get in touch with us:
warabolition@gmail.com